Holster lock



. 29, 1942. MQMILLAN HOLSTER LOCK Filed Jan. 17, 1941 INVENTOR GORDON 6. MCM/LLAN M W ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 29, 1942 U N IT'E'D STATES PAT E-NT F! 2,297,008-

B wman-Loci; Gordon G. McMillan, Sierra Madre, Galif. App ica ion Jenner-y 17, 19:21., :Se iaLNo 3. 5.8 13 4 Claims. 01,. 224-;2)

My invention relates generally .to locks .and more particularly to holster locks which are ditsigned to prevent the unauthorized removal or accidental loss of the pistol carried therein, yet

which will permit the person wearing the holster to remove the pistol as rapidly as ever.

In the performance of his duties, a peace oilioer often becomes involved in situations where cial means for securing the pistol therein, ebutg such holsters have usually prevented the rapid withdrawal of the pistol by the person carrying it, or have required a speciallydesi ned holster with complicated mechanisms or metal part in contact with the gun.

It is a major object of my invention =tg pro:- vide a holster lock which willprevent unauthore ized removal or accidental loss of the pistol or revolver but which will permit of itsinstantaccess by the wearer of the holster without itbeing necessary to make any motion with thehandor fingers in addition to those no ma y 1158.91 in drawing a pistol 0r revolver from an openho sier without alock.

It is another object of my invention to provide such a lock that may be Quickly and easily applied to existing holsters at a very small cost.

It is a further object of .my invention to provide a lock of this type which is simple in its construction and use, but positive in its opera.- tion, and which has no metal parts in contact with the pistol.

These and other objects of my invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred form thereof, and from the drawing illustrating that form, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a holster in which a pistol is shown securely held by my improved lock;

Fig. 2 is an elevational view taken at 2-2 in Fig. 1, showing the resilient strap in both open and closed positions;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevational view of the strap and hookassembly;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the upper end of the strap;

Fig. 5 is an elevational view of the hook assembly; and

Fig. 6 is a perspective utility view of the holster, lock and pistol showing the method of removing the latter.

Referring now :to the drawin par icularly to :Fig. l .thereoi, :the numeral i9. indicates a holster or leather .Or other suitabl material which .is designed :to receive apis ol Ll.- Whi e the holster l0 may he .of any ,suita'nle d ign, I

prefer to .use one having the. forward por ion .of

itsouter side l2 extend ng ab ve the hammer of the pistol, :as ;m. .Yfbe S.QnliI.1IEi -;l- The rear.- ward portion of :th side 42 m ybe c t down to pose .the trigger if desired, but thi 'is notnecessary if another s yle is 'meie re an any o the conyentional terms of ho ter may h use Attached nea he midd e o the oute side i and preie ably to th rear ther of I pro id a resili ntstrap 1. of w re, thin strap ,,m ia o other suitab e and acr ss th .ihmst rpwk t to h inne sid ial whi h .ezs ends upward y 1.4 o the h lste 1 The me a strap 1' is riveted or .oihenwisesecur ly ane sd "t9 th s 12 a d is pr ferably p o d d w th a e at e so t cover fio leather .or ther sui ab em t ria to prevent scratching the holster or gun. Atits upper end, the resilientstrap I5 is formed into a loop l6, which is of sufficient size-to permit a small hook to be readily inserted therein as 1. b st n i s and e To engage the loop 16, T provide the .novel catch shown best in Figs. 3 and 5which prefery o sis f a base plate?! ha n a str koutporti on .2! which formsa hook-like member pen at itsbottom- T rough the openi g th formed in the base plate 20, I pass a curved leaf spring 22 which is fastened to the inner side of the base plate above the hook 2|, and which'is curved outwardly to touch the depending end of the hook, and then is curved downwardly to rest on the outer side of the base plate below the hook. The lower end of the spring 22 is not fastened to the base plate 20, and hence is free to slide when the central portion of the spring is flexed. The whole assembly is then attached to the inner side I4 of the holster II) at a point slightly above the hammer of the pistol.

With this arrangement, it is a simple matter to engage the loop IS in the hook 2| by placing the end of the loop against the leaf spring 22 and pressing inwardly, thus moving the spring inwardly away from the lower end of the hook so that the resilience of the strap will cause the loop to move upwardly and engage the hook. The spring 22 then snaps back into place against the lower end of the hook 2| yieldably closing the aperture and thus retaining the loop IS in place,

To remove the loop I6, it is only necessary to press the loop downwardly so that it bears against the spring 22 and forces it away from the lower end of the hook 2|.

In use, the pistol I I is placed in the holster ID in conventional manner, the resilient strap I with its cover I3 is bent across the top of the holsterand pistol, and the loop I6 is engaged with the hook 2| The pistol is thus securely retained in the holster,.and any attempt to remove it without first disengaging the strap I5 will merely force the loop I6 more tightly against the upper portion of the hook 2 I.'

However, when the person wearing the holster;

wishes to draw the pistol from the holster, he grasps the pistol as usual, simultaneously-pushing down on the loop end of the strap I5 with described and shown, except insofar as I am limited by my appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A holster lock of the class described, which includes: a resilient strap adapted to be attached to the outer side of a holster and to extend across the pocket to the opposite side of said holster, the upper end of said strap being provided with a loop and having a natural resilience which urges the upper portion thereof in a direction outwardly from said holster; a base plate adapted to be attached to the inner side of said holster; a hook with its opening facing the pocket and attached to said base plate, said hook being adapted to receive said loop; and a spring attached at one end to said base plate and having its freeendextending across said opening and his thumb, which is a usual and normal motion of the thumb in being extended along the left side of the pistol frame. This disengages the loop I6 from the hook 2|, and the pistol II may then be withdrawn in normal fashion. With very little practice the pistol may be drawn as quickly as from a holster not having my improved lock.

To prevent the loop I6 from catching on the lower end of the hook 2I when the pistol II is being withdrawn, I preferably curve the spring 22 so that its outermost point is in line with or beyond the end of the hook 2I, as shown in Fig. 3, so that the end of the loop will be allowed to spring outwardly away from the hook when it is released. With the strap I5 made of resilient material it will normally seek a position away from the holster I0 as shown in dotted outline in Fig. 2, and the possibility of accidental reengagement of the loop I6 is reduced to a minimum. In addition, this resilience keeps the disengaged strap clear of the holster pocket so that the pistol II may be easily reinserted therein. By forming the strap I5 in this manner, and by extending it across the holster pocket, a minimum of opportunity is provided for the strap to be caught on extraneous objects, while at the same time, the high portion of the side I2 provides ample room to disengage the loop I6 with the thumb.

Although this description has been predicated on the basis of a right-handed holster, it will be apparent that my invention will work equally well with a left-handed holster; and while I have shown and described a preferred form of my invention, I do not wish to be limited to the particular form or arrangement of parts herein bearing against the lower end of said hook and the'outer surface of said base plate whereby said hook is yieldably closed.

2. A holster lock of the class described, which includes: a strap adapted to be attached to the outer side of a holster and to extend across the pocket to the opposite side of said holster, said strap having a loop at its upper end and having a natural resilience which urges the upper portion thereof in a direction outwardly from said holster; and a base plate adapted to be attached to the inner side of said holster and having a downwardly open hook adapted to receive said loop.

3. A holster lock of the class described which includes: a resilient strap adapted to be attached to the outer side of a holster and to extend across the pocket to the opposite side of said holster, the natural resilience of said strap urging the upper portion thereof in a direction outwardly from said holster, said strap having a loop at its upper end; a hook adapted to be attached to the inner side of said holster with its opening facing the pocket to receive said loop; and means for yieldably closing said hook.

'4. A holster lock of the character described which includes: a resilient strap adapted to be attached to the outer side of a holster and to extend across the pocket to the opposite side thereof, said strap having a loop at its free end, the natural resilience of said strap urging it away from said pocket; and a downwardly opening hook adapted to be attached to the inner side of said holster to receive said loop.

GORDON G. MCMILLAN. 

